The Easiest Way to Melt Wax for Candles

May 27, 2017

The Easiest Way to Melt Wax for Candles

Melting wax has always been a rather daunting task for me. I’ve tried for ages to find an easy way to melt wax that doesn’t involve ruining a cooking pan, or spending half an hour standing in front of the microwave, stirring every minute or so. Behold: the pyrex cup double boiler.

I started by putting a pyrex measuring cup full of wax flakes inside a medium sauce pan, hooking the handle over the edge. Fill the saucepan with water until it’s an inch or two below the rim of the pyrex cup, and put it on a burner. A benefit to having it hang like this is that the glass isn’t resting directly on the burner or on the bottom of the pan (which could damage it), and the entire mug is surrounded in water.

The wax melts pretty quickly. The first cup melts down in about 5 after the water starts boiling. After the first batch melts down, you can add more wax flakes until you have the right amount of melted wax.

The saucepan with the boiled water was still clean and wax free, I just wiped it down quickly. The glass of the pyrex mug is easy to clean, but I keep one mug designated for melting wax. At only a few dollars, it’s way more reasonable to have a designated measuring cup, as opposed to a designated sauce pan.